I’m reaching into the archives this week. I’ve had a hard few weeks, and this old piece has been one form of medicine I keep returning to. So I’m sending it to you again, lightly updated, in case you need it too.
What’s the difference between a maze and a labyrinth?
(Besides the fact that “maze” is MUCH easier to spell, and that “labyrinth” is worth more points in Scrabble?)
Most people use the words interchangeably, but there’s actually quite a difference.
A maze has multiple paths and dead ends. You can get lost in a maze.
A labyrinth has only one path that leads to the center and back out again.
No dead ends. No wrong turns. No matter how twisty and confusing the journey seems, you are always going exactly the right direction.
Many of us move through life as if it’s a maze—a confusing puzzle we need to solve before something goes wrong.
What if it’s actually a labyrinth?
What if there’s no such thing as a wrong turn?
What if we’re always on our path, going exactly where we need to go, and our only job is to put one foot in front of the other with patience and—when we can muster it—wonder?
I won’t pretend that’s easy to believe when life isn’t going the way you planned.
When things don’t work the way they were supposed to.
When you’re frustrated, or grieving, or just plain mad at the way things turned out.
I’m in one of those stretches right now.
And I’ll be honest: some moments the labyrinth frame helps, and some moments I’m still pretty convinced I’m lost.
But I keep coming back to it.
Because the alternative—white-knuckling my way through a maze I can’t solve—is exhausting.
Deciding that life is a labyrinth helps me relax when my path isn’t taking me where I think it should.
As a wise person once told me: The Way Knows the Way.
I can’t prove it. I’m just choosing to believe it.
Try it? Let me know how it goes?
Not lost, even when it feels that way,
Rachel
PS – Winning isn’t about never having hard stuff happen. It’s about how you show up to meet it. If you’re in a hard stretch and you want some support showing up well—that’s exactly what I’m here for. First consult is free.
